Mother pleads guilty to prostitution in front of children, neglect

GRAHAM — A Burlington woman admitted Monday to prostituting herself in front of her children and housing them in deplorable conditions, without hot food or facilities.

There was no working plumbing inside the home. Without a working toilet, Jamie Dare Griffin and her three children — an 11-year-old daughter and twin 8-year-old sons — used plastic bags. She hadn’t prepared a hot meal in at least a month, the children allegedly told agents with the Alamance County Department of Social Services.

The children often saw her having sex with the men that came to their home on East Davis Street. The men would wait for her in the living room with the children. Her daughter refused to sleep in her own bed because her mother used it for sex, Alamance County Assistant District Attorney Alex Dawson said.

Instead of using the money she earned as a prostitute to care for her children, Griffin, 34, spent it to feed her prescription pill addiction and to buy marijuana.

Griffin pleaded guilty Monday to one count of felony child abuse inflicting serious mental injury and two counts of misdemeanor contributing to the neglect of a juvenile. The children reported their living conditions to DSS in November 2010 and were removed from the home. They now live with their grandfather.

Dawson said the girl’s hair was so matted that it had to be cut off. He also said the children had no clean clothes to wear because Griffin didn’t do laundry. When their clothes became too soiled to wear, she would buy new items at Walmart.

Defense attorney Keisha Bluford disputed those claims and said she wasn’t given evidence of those accusations before Monday’s hearing. She asked for those to be stricken from the record.

All three children are in counseling. Dawson said the boys were more able to talk about the incidents than the daughter.

The plea was agreed upon to spare the children from having to testify against their mother, attorneys said. The plea agreement dismissed one count of contributing to the neglect of a juvenile and left sentencing in the judge’s discretion.

Bluford told Superior Court Judge James E. Hardin Jr. that Griffin was “severely addicted” to several kinds of pills at the time. During custody hearings, Griffin acknowledged wrongdoing and “reached out for help” with her addiction, Bluford said.

She’s been in jail on unrelated charges of larceny by removing an anti-theft device for about eight months. Before that charge, Griffin looked into enrolling at Freedom House, a residential drug treatment center, Bluford said.

Griffin wiped away tears but said little during the hearing.

Hardin questioned whether she was willing to complete a treatment program, saying he didn’t “want to waste anyone’s time.” She told the judge she intended to enroll in a program.

He sentenced her as a level two offender and issued a suspended eight- to 10-month sentence and placed her on 30 months’ probation. She was ordered to enroll in a residential treatment program, which her probation officer will have the discretion to identify. Hardin gave her one-day jail credit toward a split, active sentence. She was ordered to pay court costs and $1,781.25 in attorney’s fees.

Griffin was originally charged with three counts of indecent liberties with a child. Bluford said the child abuse and neglect charges better fit the evidence in the case.